As Swami Vivekanand said it, every soul has the potential to be divine. Taking a cue from this wisdom, we can go a step further to say that every soul is fundamentally divine.

Potentially divine would mean one has to make efforts to make it divine, whereas if we say fundamentally divine then all one needs to do is to be watchful so that the soul does not deviate from its pristine nature

Every one knows that ill will, hatred and greed are the real causes of war, terrorism and corruption. Imagine what a wonderful place this world will become if it is rid of these human vices. Should such a miracle happen, the money being siphoned off by the corrupt or money spent on armament and terrorist activities can be used for providing primary health care and education to the deprived sections.

We all know that no one at peace with oneself can do any wrong. If we analyse any such moment when some one was hurt by our conduct, we would always find an excuse that it was because of anger, greed, ego, ignorance or wrong perception. This again means that irrespective of the nature of the hurt, it is never intentional.

Every action in the world is a result of one’s perception based upon one’s knowledge and wisdom. I shall cite an incident from my own life in support of my belief in the beauty of the soul. In the year 2000, lawyers in Delhi went on a strike in protest against police assault on some of their colleagues, which resulted in much suffering to the litigants, some of whom had to remain in jail because there were no lawyers to plead for them. I felt that we were wrong to be on strike, and took a conscientious decision to oppose the strike. Most of my fellow-lawyers, who were angered by my views, criticized me. But, some time later, the very same colleagues supported me in the election for the post of secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association (India) and helped me win hands down. It proves the theory of the beauty of the soul.

We all are possessed with good thoughts, and most of the time we perform good deeds. Even the worst of human beings are not obsessed with evil thoughts all the time. Such people also do charitable work from time to time. The willingness to lend a helping hand is again a proof of the human soul’s divinity. Once a person realizes that no one is his enemy, one would not bear ill will towards anybody.

One should always believe in the beauty of the soul. It will not allow an individual to entertain ill will against any one. If those occupying positions of power feel the beauty of the soul in their bones, the world will be transformed - no one will go hungry or die for lack of medical care or suffer for lack of education.